


Human shield

by sugarandspace



Series: Whumptober 2019 [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 21:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20896523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarandspace/pseuds/sugarandspace
Summary: Realistically Magnus knew that if the situation ever arose where the only way to save his life would be for Alec to put his own in danger, Alec would not hesitate. He’d just been hoping that they would never face such situation. But as it so often is, even this fear had to come true.





	Human shield

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being completely different than I planned, but I like this version better!

Realistically Magnus knew that if the situation ever arose where the only way to save his life would be for Alec to put his own in danger, Alec would not hesitate. He’d just been hoping that they would never face such situation. But as it so often is, even this fear had to come true.

The battle is a blur of friends and demons, of weapons and claws. But it all seems to come to a stop when Magnus sees Alec fall to the ground.

He reacts quickly, killing the demon that sunk its claws deep into the flesh of Alec’s shoulder. The fight goes on around them but all Magnus can focus on is Alec and the blood that’s seeping to his jacket.

Alec falls, his knees hitting the ground hard before he starts to fall forward. Magnus steadies him and lowers him on the dirty street, but the only stains he’s worried about are the pools of red spreading from the wounds onward. He’s bleeding too fast.

“What did you do?!” Magnus says to him as he rips the already ruined shirt open to be able to assess the wound better. He halfheartedly notices that the rest of their group is fighting around them, covering their backs as Magnus focuses on Alec.

“Saved your life,” Alec says. He aims for a light tone but it falls flat when his face twists in pain and he sucks in a sharp breath. IT reminds Magnus too much of a night when they were in a position too similar to this, except that time Alec had an arrow in his chest. At that moment Magnus truly hates their lives and how often their jobs put them in the line for danger.

“More like risked yours,” Magnus replies and presses his hand to the wound, both to slow the bleeding and to give them more time, and to be able to push the healing magic straight into the tissues that were damaged.

“It depends-” Alec starts but he has to stop for a moment so he can focus on breathing through the pain. “- it depends on the perspective.”

Magnus doesn’t reply and instead focuses on healing. It’s the fear of losing Alec, and the reality that if it were to happen it would be because of him, because of his carelessness and the fact that he wasn’t enough - wasn’t a good enough fighter, wasn’t a good enough healer - that pushes Magnus right to his limits. Everyone is still busy around them, and there’s no one there to lend Magnus any strength, so he goes further than he knows he should.

All he feels is the flow of magic, and the desperation for it to work, and then a second later he feels nothing, the fatigue winning over willpower and claiming him to darkness.

* * *

When he wakes up, he has no idea where he is. When he gets his bearings back enough to recognize the ceiling and the wall in front of his bed as the institute infirmary, it takes him a moment longer to remember what happened for him to end up in there.

When he remembers, he’s thrown to panic.

He sits up so fast he feels he might faint and looks around the room, trying to find anyone who could reply to his question, the only one that matters to him at the moment. But he sees the reply with his own eyes when he sees that Alec is sitting on the bed next to his.

“Alexander,” he breathes out, and Alec smiles to him faintly.

They’re not the only ones in the room. Magnus can see Izzy, Clary, and Jace around the beds as well, but his only focus is on Alec.

“Are you okay?” He asks. Alec looks okay - he’s sitting up and he’s smiling and he’s breathing and there’s no blood on his plain infirmary clothes - but Magnus needs to be sure.

“I am,” Alec replies. “Thanks to you.”

Magnus sighs in relief, but he’s barely able to do so before Alec continues.

“That was incredibly reckless.”

The worry that had been lingering and holding Magnus’ heart tight moves onto the background as the words register.

“I was reckless?” He asks, making sure he understood right. 

“You used too much magic,” Alec says, and Magnus can’t believe his words.

“Guys-” Izzy starts but Magnus silences her with a glare.

“There’s no such thing as too much when we are talking about your life!” He exclaims as he looks back to Alec. He’s unable to keep his tone calm. “By the looks of it the amount of magic I used was enough, and by what I could feel when you were lying on the ground bleeding out _ because of me,_ I know that the more accurate term would be ‘barely enough’.”

Alec doesn’t reply and he turns his eyes towards the floor. Magnus can’t quite decipher the emotion in them. Guilt? Shame? Sadness?

“If anyone was reckless, it was you.”

This probably isn’t the place or the time for an argument, but the emotions are still running high and Magnus needs to get them out, and he assumes the situation is the same for Alec as well. The others look from the side and Magnus is glad they don’t interfere again.

Alec looks back up at Magnus, and the expression on his face is determined.

“The demon was going to kill you,” he says, and Magnus envies the way Alec doesn’t shout. His words are steady and calm, but there’s a clear edge of anger in them as well. “Who would have healed you, if it had hit you in the chest like it was going to? This way we had a chance and we both lived.”

“Are you seriously telling me that you took that into consideration? That you thought of it logically before you jumped in front of your possible death?” Magnus challenges.

“No.”

“See, that was reckless.”

“Are you mad at me because I love you?” Alec asks, and Magnus has to stop and think.

Because that's exactly it. He’s angry because he loves Alexander and he was worried he was going to lose him today. The reminder of how easily it could happen brought on a load of emotions Magnus can’t control, so he’s trying to control the situation, is trying to make Alec realize that the same can't happen again.

But he loves every part of Alec, even the one that’s willing to sacrifice anything for the ones he loves. Magnus happens to have the painful luck to be counted into that group and that’s just something he has to live with for the rest of their life.

He doesn’t argue further, and all the fight has left his tone when he replies.

“I love you too.”

Alec seems to understand, and his expression turns gentler as well.

Their moment is broken when Jace talks.

“Since neither of you is allowed to leave the bed, I almost feel like we should push your beds closer together so you could kiss now,” he says and Magnus remembers suddenly that they are not alone in the room. 

“I’m not opposed to the idea,” he says and as he sees the smile on Alec’s face, he knows that they will be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> I have [tumblr](https://sugarandspace.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sugarandspace_)!


End file.
